Early Christian Views on Procreation

Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Direct teaching

...od, and also lawful marriage, as much as is fitting and useful. And it has allowed us to desire the procreation of children. But whoever pursues these things beyond measure falls away even from what is according to nature, harming himself through relations that are against law. Above all, it is right that we should never use sexual intercourse with youths as with women. And so he who was made a philosopher by Moses says that seed must not be sown on rocks and stones, because it will never take root there or receive the generative power of seed. Therefore the Word through Moses most plainly commanded: "And with a male you shall not lie as with a woman. It is an abomination," Leviticus 18:22. In addition, the noble Plato, gathering from the divine Scriptures that one must also abstain from every female field except one's own, gave counsel from a law taken from there: "And you shall not give the intercourse of seed to your neighbor's wife, to be defiled with her," Leviticus 18:20. The seed spent with concubines is barren and adulterous. Do not sow seed where you do not want what is sown to be born for you. And do not touch any woman at all except your own wife, from whom alone it i

Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Direct teaching

...oes she want human beings to be occupied with marriage all the time. Marriage is the desire for the procreation of children, not the disorderly emission of seed, which is both against law and contrary to reason. Our whole life would proceed according to nature if from the beginning we restrained our desires, and did not destroy the human race, which is born by divine providence, by wicked and evil arts. For some, in order to hide fornication, use deadly drugs that lead completely to ruin, and along with the unborn child destroy all humanity. Moreover, those who are allowed to marry need the Instructor, so that the mystical rites of nature may not be celebrated in the daytime, and so that no one, for example, returning in the morning from church or from the marketplace, may mate like a rooster, when it is the time for prayer, reading, and the works that ought to be done during the day. But in the evening one should rest after the meal, and after the thanksgiving offered to God for the good things we have received. Nature does not always allow time for marital intercourse to take place. For union is more desirable the longer it is delayed. Nor should people behave immodestly and w

Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians (Long Version) Direct teaching

Husbands, love your wives, as fellow-servants of God, as your own body, as the partners of your life, and your co-adjutors in the procreation of children.

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Direct teaching

For as the husbandman throwing the seed into the ground awaits the harvest, not sowing more upon it, so to us the procreation of children is the measure of our indulgence in appetite.

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Direct teaching

Let lust not go beyond the marriage-bed, but be subservient to the procreation of children.

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness

Moreover, the passion of lust is implanted and innate in us for the procreation of children;

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

...s a presbyter or a deacon or a layman, using marriage without blame. “But she will be saved through childbearing,” 1 Timothy 2:15. And again, when the Savior calls the Jews “an evil and adulterous generation,” He teaches that they did not know the law as the law wills. Instead, following the tradition of the elders and the commandments of men, they adulterated the law, as though the husband and lord of their virginity had not been given to them. Perhaps He also hints that they had become enslaved to other desires, because through these desires, while continually serving sins, they were sold to foreigners. For among the Jews common women were not allowed, but adultery was forbidden. But the one who says, “I have taken a wife, I cannot come,” Luke 19:20, to the divine supper, is indeed an example for rebuking those who withdraw from the divine command because of pleasures. Otherwise, neither the righteous before the coming, nor those after the coming who took wives, even if they were apostles, would be saved. And if they bring forward what the prophet also says, “I have grown old among all my enemies,” let them understand the enemies as sins. There is one kind of sin here, not mar

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...ty of chastity. God limits this not only within private walls, but also to the lawful bounds of the marriage bed, so that when a man has a wife, he should not also want to have either a female slave or a free woman besides her, but should keep faith in marriage. For according to human law, only the woman is an adulteress if she has another man, while the husband, even if he has several women, is freed from the charge of adultery. But the divine law joins the two in marriage with equal right, since it is one body, so that whoever has torn apart the union of that body in different directions is judged an adulterer. And for no other reason did God, although He made the other living creatures resist the males after conception, make woman alone among them all receptive to the man. This was clearly so that, if women resisted, lust would force men to desire something else, and by doing so they would not keep the glory of chastity. But neither would a woman gain the virtue of modesty if she were not able to sin. For who would call a dumb animal modest, when after conception it resists the male? It does this because it must come into pain and danger if it allows him. Therefore there is n

Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians Supporting witness

...em.” Having completed all these things, He approved them, and blessed them, and said, “Increase and multiply.” We see, then, how all righteous men have been adorned with good works and how the Lord Himself, adorning Himself with His works, rejoiced. Therefore, having such an example, let us immediately align with His will and work the work of righteousness with all our strength.

Tertullian, Against Marcion Supporting witness

according to the judgment of its founder Himself, who not only said, Be fruitful, and multiply, Genesis 1:28 but also, You shall not commit adultery, and, You shall not covet your neighbour's wife;

Genesis 1:28 Background

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Jeremiah 29:6 Background

Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

... you not plainly preach to your pupils, as the good Deity, the Friendship of Empedocles? You forbid marriage, the procreation of children, and foods that God has created for the faithful, and those who know the truth, to partake of, 1 Timothy 4:3. Do you think, then, that you can escape detection while you are enjoining the purificatory rites of Empedocles? For in fact you follow this philosopher in every respect, while you instruct your own disciples to refuse foods, so that they may not eat any body that might be a remnant of a soul that has been punished by the Demiurge. You dissolve marriages that have been joined by the Deity. And here again you conform to the teachings of Empedocles, so that for you the work of Friendship may be kept one and indivisible. For according to Empedocles, marriage separates unity and makes it plurality, as we have proved.

Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians (Long Version) Direct teaching

...y name he is an Ebionite. If anyone confesses the truths mentioned but calls lawful wedlock and the procreation of children destruction and pollution or considers certain kinds of food abominable, such a one has the apostate dragon dwelling within him. If anyone confesses the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and praises the creation, but calls the incarnation merely an appearance and is ashamed of the passion, such a one has denied the faith, not less than the Jews who killed Christ. If anyone confesses these things, and that God the Word did dwell in a human body, being within it as the Word, just as the soul is in the body, because it was God that inhabited it, and not a human soul, but claims that unlawful unions are good, and places the highest happiness in pleasure, as does the man who is falsely called a Nicolaitan, this person can neither be a lover of God nor a lover of Christ, but is a corrupter of his own flesh, and therefore void of the Holy Spirit and a stranger to Christ. All such persons are only monuments and tombs of the dead, upon which are written only the names of dead men. Flee, therefore, the wicked devices and snares of the spirit which now works in

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Direct teaching

...nd against the holy Maker, who alone is God Almighty, these points must be set forth. They say that marriage and the procreation of children must not be allowed, that no other people should be brought into the world to become miserable, and that food must not be supplied to death. Against them, first of all, is that saying of John: “And now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would surely have remained with us.” 1 John 2:18-19. Next, they must also be overthrown, and the arguments they bring forward must be refuted, in this way. When Salome asked, “How long will death remain strong?” the Lord said, “As long as you women bear children.” He said this, not as though life were evil, and creation evil, but as teaching a natural consequence. For decay always follows birth. Therefore, the Law wants to lead us away from pleasures and every shameful thing and disgrace. And this is its end: that we may be led from injustice to righteousness, by choosing honorable marriages, the procreation of children, and a good way of life. And the Lord did not come to destroy the Law,

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

Others, again, of them do refuse certain meats, and say that marriage with the procreation of children is evil, and the contrivance of the devil;

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

... unnatural. But those of the second kind, the adulterers, act unjustly by corrupting other people's marriages and dividing into two what God has made one. They make the children open to suspicion and expose the true husband to the plots of others. And fornication is the ruin of one's own flesh, since it is not used for the bringing forth of children, but entirely for pleasure, which is a mark of lack of self-control and not a sign of virtue. All these things are forbidden by the laws, for the oracles say this: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. For such a person is accursed, and you shall stone them with stones; they have committed abomination." "Everyone who lies with a beast, put him to death; he has committed wickedness among his people." "And if anyone defiles a married woman, put them both to death; they have committed wickedness; they are guilty; let them die." And afterward it says: "There shall not be a fornicator among the children of Israel, and there shall not be a prostitute among the daughters of Israel. You shall not offer the hire of a harlot to the Lord your God upon the altar, nor the price of a dog. For vows that arise from the hire of a harlot are

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

..., then, they have received the resurrection, as they themselves say, why do they weaken and abolish marriage? Why do they neither eat nor drink? For the apostle says that in the resurrection the belly and foods are destroyed. How, then, do they hunger and thirst, and suffer the body's passions, and other things that the one who has received through Christ the perfect resurrection that is hoped for will not suffer? Even those who worship idols abstain from foods and from sexual relations. But, he says, "the kingdom of God is not food and drink." Romans 14:17 Those who worship angels and demons are even more careful to abstain from wine, from living creatures, and from sexual relations. But just as humility is meekness, and not affliction of the body, so also self-control is a virtue of the soul. It is not in what is outward, but in what is hidden. There are also some who openly say that marriage is fornication, and declare that it was handed down by the devil. These glorious boasters say that they are imitating the Lord, who neither took a wife nor possessed anything in the world. They boast that they have understood the Gospel better than others. But Scripture says to them, "God

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness

To give an example: Springing from Saturninus and Marcion, those who are called Encratites (self-controlled) preached against marriage, thus setting aside the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made the male and female for the propagation of the human race.

Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians (Long Version) Supporting witness

... fellow-servants of God, as your own body, as the partners of your life, and your co-workers in the procreation of children. Virgins, have Christ alone before your eyes, and His Father in your prayers, being enlightened by the Spirit. May I take pleasure in your purity, as that of Elijah, or as of Joshua the son of Nun, as of Melchizedek, or as of Elisha, as of Jeremiah, or as of John the Baptist, as of the beloved disciple, as of Timothy, as of Titus, as of Evodius, as of Clement, who departed this life in perfect chastity. Not, however, that I blame the other blessed saints because they entered into the married state, of which I have just spoken. For I pray that, being found worthy of God, I may be found at their feet in the kingdom, as at the feet of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; as of Joseph, and Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets; as of Peter, Paul, and the rest of the apostles, who were married men. For they entered into these marriages not for the sake of desire, but out of regard for the propagation of mankind. Fathers, “bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and teach them the holy Scriptures, and also trades, so that they may not indulge in i

Justin Martyr, On the Resurrection, Fragments Supporting witness

...others later in life. Men also remain virgins, some from birth and others later on, thus preventing marriage corrupted by lust. Some animals with wombs don't bear offspring either, such as mules; male mules don’t father offspring. So, both in humans and animals, sexual relations can cease even before the afterlife. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin to end procreation driven by wrongful desire and to show the ruler that forming man was possible for God without human intervention. After His birth, He conformed to other human conditions—like eating, drinking, and wearing clothes—but not to fulfilling sexual functions. Regarding fleshly desires, He accepted some as necessary but did not indulge in those unnecessary. Without food, drink, or clothing, the flesh perishes, but it doesn't suffer from the absence of wrongful desire. He also foretold that, in the afterlife, sexual intercourse will cease; as He said, “The children of this world marry and are given in marriage; but the children of the next world neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.” Unbelievers shouldn't be surprised if, in the afterlife, He ends the actions of our flesh that ar

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

The first decree commanded people to increase and multiply. The second commanded continency. While the world was still unformed and empty, we were multiplied through the fruitful begetting of many people, and we increased for the growth of the human race. Now, when the world is filled and the earth supplied, those who can receive continency, living in the manner of eunuchs, make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom. Nor does the Lord command this, but He urges it. Nor does He place the yoke of necessity on anyone, since the free choice of the will is left. But when He says that in His Father's house are many mansions, He shows the dwelling places of the better habitation. You are seeking those better dwelling places. By cutting away the desires of the flesh, you obtain the reward of a greater grace in the heavenly home. Indeed, all who attain the divine gift and inheritance through the sanctification of baptism put off the old man in it by the grace of the saving washing, and, renewed by the Holy Spirit from the filth of the old contagion, are cleansed by a second birth. But the greater holiness and truth of that repeated birth belongs to you, who no longer have any desires of the fl

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...ou are free from this sentence. You do not fear the sorrows and groanings of women. You do not fear childbearing, nor is your husband lord over you. But your Lord and Head is Christ, after the likeness and in the place of the man. With men, your lot and condition are equal. It is the word of the Lord that says, "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage; but those who are counted worthy of that world, and of the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage. Neither can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels of God, being children of the resurrection." Luke 20:35-36 What we shall be, you have already begun to be. You already possess in this world the glory of the resurrection. You pass through the world without the contagion of the world. Since you remain chaste and virgins, you are equal to the angels of God. Only let your virginity remain and continue firm and unharmed. As it began bravely, let it continue without stopping, and let it not seek the ornaments of necklaces or clothing, but the ornament of conduct. Let it look toward God and heaven, and not lower to the desires of the flesh and of the world the eyes lifted up to t

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

... and teaching of actions: that a person should either remain as he was born, or be content with one marriage. For a second marriage is only a specious adultery. For He says, "Whoever puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery," Matthew 19:9. He does not permit a man to send away her whose virginity he has brought to an end, nor to marry again. For he who deprives himself of his first wife, even though she is dead, is a cloaked adulterer. He resists the hand of God, because in the beginning God made one man and one woman, and he dissolves the strictest union of flesh with flesh, formed for the intercourse of the race.

Tertullian, Against Marcion Supporting witness

...by divorce. This is as if even those who cannot have children had not all received their flesh from marriage. Now, a system like this must certainly involve rejecting marriage. Let us see, then, whether that is just. We do not do this because we want to destroy the value of holiness, as certain Nicolaitans do when they defend lust and luxury. Rather, we are people who have come to know holiness, who pursue it and prefer it, but without harming marriage. We do not replace something bad with something good, but only something good with something better. For we do not reject marriage; we simply abstain from it. Nor do we lay down holiness as a rule for everyone, but only recommend it. We regard it as good, yes, even as the better state, if each person practices it carefully according to his ability. But at the same time, we strongly defend marriage whenever attacks are made on it as if it were something unclean, to the dishonor of the Creator. For He also gave His blessing to marriage, as an honorable condition, for the increase of the human race. In the same way, He blessed all His creation for healthy and good uses. Food and drink are not to be condemned for this reason: when the

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

Nay, you would find many among us, both men and women, growing old unmarried, in hope of living in closer communion with God.